Safety butterfly needle

ABSTRACT

A butterfly needle for venipuncture includes a body with two protruding flexible tongues that can be bent by manual gripping by the user from a diverging position to a converging position, and a needle mounted axially in the fore end of a needle-carrier which a tail protruding rearward from the body to couple with the connection of a flexible tube destined to be connected to a syringe or a bottle. The needle-carrier is mounted axially slidable in the body to pass from a forward position of use wherein the needle protrudes forward from the body to perform the injection to a retracted position of safety wherein the needle is protected inside the body, there being provided guide elements able to guide the axial movement of the needle-carrier inside the body and end-of-stroke and locking elements able to lock the needle-carrier in the advanced position and in the retracted position.

The present invention refers to a safety butterfly needle forvenipuncture.

As is known, butterfly needles for venipuncture are widely available onthe market. Said butterfly needles are generally used for intravenousinjections, infusions, blood sampling, transfusions and the like.Although specific reference will be made herein to injections, it is tobe understood that the butterfly needle according to the invention canalso be used for blood sampling and the like.

A butterfly needle generally comprises a needle proper to penetrate intothe vein. Said needle is supported integrally by a needle-carrierwhereon two flexible tongues shaped like butterfly wings are mounted.

The rear end of the needle is connected to a small flexible plastictube. The tube ends in a wider mouth, which is closed by a stopper. Themouth of the tube is designed to couple with the fore end of a syringefilled with a solution to be injected for intravenous injections or withthe top of a container or bottle for intravenous infusions.

Said flexible tongues perform a dual function: that is to say, they actas a grip for the operator who must perform the injection and they actas a means of fixing to the patient's skin to secure the needle in placeduring the injection. Once the treatment has been completed, the userbends the tongues to make them converge and removes the needle from thevein.

The assembly of butterfly needle, tube, syringe, bottle etc. cannot bere-used and therefore is sent for disposal. This operation provesextremely dangerous since the butterfly needle remains exposed and thisleads to the risk of accidental needle sticks both by the userperforming the injection and by the personnel responsible for disposal.

The object of the present invention is to overcome the drawbacks of theprior art by providing a safety butterfly needle that is able to avoidaccidental needle sticks.

Another object of the present invention is to provide such a safetybutterfly needle that is practical, simple for the user to use andreliable during use.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide such a safetybutterfly needle that is economical and simple to make.

These objects are achieved in accordance with the invention with thecharacteristics listed in appended independent claim 1.

Advantageous embodiments of the invention are apparent from thedependent claims.

The safety butterfly needle for venipuncture according to the inventioncomprises a substantially cylindrical body with two outwardly protrudingflexible tongues which can be manually gripped by the user and bent froma diverging to a converging position.

A needle is axially mounted in the head of a needle-carrier coupled tothe body, so that the needle protrudes axially forward from the body.The needle carrier has a tail protruding rearward from the body tocouple with the connection of a flexible tube destined to be connectedto a syringe or to a bottle for injection of a solution or forcollection of blood.

The main characteristic of the invention lies in the fact that saidneedle-carrier is mounted so that it can slide axially inside the bodyto pass from a forward position of use in which the needle protrudesforward from the body to perform the injection and a retracted positionof safety in which the needle is protected inside the body. Thebutterfly needle according to the invention further comprises guidemeans able to guide the axial movement of the needle-carrier inside thebody and end of stroke and locking means able to lock the needle-carrierin said forward position of use and in said retracted position ofsafety.

The advantages of the butterfly needle with needle-cover deviceaccording to the invention are obvious. In fact, once the injection hasbeen performed, the needle is protected by the body in a position ofsafety, thus avoiding accidental injuries.

Moreover, operation of said butterfly needle appears to be extremelysafe, precisely because the needle-carrier is guided during its axialmovement within the body.

Further characteristics of the invention will be made clearer by thedetailed description that follows, referring to a purely exemplary andtherefore non-limiting embodiment thereof, illustrated in the appendeddrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded top view illustrating a butterfly needle accordingto the invention, wherein the front part of the body is shown partiallyin section;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the needle-carrier of thebutterfly needle according to the invention;

FIG. 3 is a plan view from above of the butterfly needle of FIG. 1assembled and in the position of use, wherein the needle cap is notshown and the front part of the body is shown partially in section;

FIG. 4 is a cross section of the butterfly needle, taken along thesectional plane IV-IV of FIG. 3, wherein the needle-carrier has not beensectioned;

FIG. 5 is a plan view from above of the butterfly needle in the safetyposition wherein the body is shown partially in section;

FIG. 6 is a plan view from above illustrating the rear part of the bodyof the butterfly needle according to a variant embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 7 is a plan view from above partially illustrating theneedle-carrier and the rear part of the body according to the variant ofFIG. 6, wherein the needle-carrier is locked in the safety position.

The butterfly needle according to the invention, denoted as whole withreference numeral 100, is described with the aid of the figures.

With reference for now to FIG. 1, the butterfly needle 100 comprises amain body 1, substantially cylindrical in shape, whereon two flexibletongues 2 are mounted. The tongues 2 are mounted in the front part ofthe body 1 and protrude in opposite directions with respect to the axisof the body. Near the body 1 the tongues 2 have longitudinal grooves 20which act as fold lines to allow the tongues 2 to be folded along thegrooves 20. In this manner the tongues 2, bending along the fold lines20, can pass from an open position, shown in the figures, to a closedposition, in which they converge, coming close to each other so thatthey can be grasped by the user.

With reference also to FIG. 2, a needle 9 is mounted axially in the foreend of a needle-carrier 3. The needle-carrier 3 is hollow on the insideand has an axial channel open at the front and rear for passage of theliquid to be injected. The needle-carrier 3 must be mounted inside thebody 1 so that the needle 9 protrudes forward from the body 1 to performthe injection. The needle 9 is covered by a substantially frusto-conicalneedle cap 10 that snap engages in the fore end 11 of the body 1. Forthis purpose the fore-end 11 of the body 1 has a slightly smallerdiameter than the body 1.

The needle-carrier 3 has a tail 8 designed to protrude rearward from thebody 1 to couple with a special connection of a flexible tube (not shownin the figures) designed to be connected to a syringe or to a bottlecontaining the solution to be injected or destined to receive the bloodsampled. The needle-carrier 3 has a front part 30 with a smallerdiameter and a central part 31 with a larger diameter, so as to definean annular abutment surface 32 between the front part 30 and the centralpart 31.

A pin or nib 33, substantially cylindrical in shape and protrudingradially outward from the central part 31 of the needle-carrier, isprovided in the front in the central part 31 of the needle-carrier.

A manual operating device 34 is mounted behind the nib 33, in thecentral part 31 of the needle-carrier. The manual operating device 34comprises a small hollow cylinder or tube 35 rotatably mounted on arecessed seat 37 of the central part 31 of the needle-carrier, so as tobe able to turn with respect to the axis of the needle-carrier. In thismanner the outer side surface of the rotatable cylinder 35 is at thesame level as the outer side surface of the central part 31 of theneedle-carrier.

A tongue or operating lever 36 having a substantially parallelepipedshape, suitable to be manually operated be the user's finger tip,protrudes radially outward from the rotatable cylinder. The thickness ofthe operating lever 36 is slightly less than the diameter of the nib 33.

The body 1 is substantially cylindrical in shape and hollow on theinside, having a bore 11 open at the front and rear. The body 1 has alongitudinal slot 13 in its side surface. The longitudinal slot 13 isdisposed at an angular distance of about 90° with respect to the wings2. The longitudinal slot 13 is delimited at the front by a rounded frontabutment surface 14. The width of the longitudinal slot 13 is slightlygreater than the diameter of the nib 33.

Behind the front abutment surface 14, the slot 13 has a recess 18 actingas a front stopping seat, disposed circumferentially at right angleswith respect to the axis of the longitudinal slot 13. The width of thefront recess 18 is slightly greater than the width of the operatinglever 36 to be able to receive it on its inside. In practice the slot 13has a substantially L-shaped configuration at the front to allow abayonet-type coupling.

At the rear, on the other hand, the longitudinal slot 13 has a narrowing15. The width of the narrowing 15 is smaller than the diameter of thenib 33 and larger than the thickness of the operating tongue 36, so asto allow the passage of the tongue 36 and locking of the nib 33. Behindthe narrowing 15, the longitudinal slot 13 has a tapered part 16 whichwidens. Behind the tapered part 16 a recess 17 acting as a rear stoppingseat, able to receive the operating lever 36, is provided. The rearrecess 17 is disposed circumferentially at right angles with respect tothe axis of the longitudinal slot 13. In practice, the slot 13 has atthe rear also a substantially L-shaped configuration to allow abayonet-type coupling.

The head 11 of the body 1 has in its front edge an annular collar 12protruding inward so as to form a radial abutment surface and define ahole 19 able to allow the passage of the front part 30 of theneedle-carrier 3.

The butterfly needle 100 according to the invention comprises a spiralspring 4 suitable to be disposed around the front part 30 of theneedle-carrier 3, so that one end of the spring 4 abuts against theabutment surface 32 of the central part 31 of the needle-carrier 3 andthe other end of the spring 4 abuts against the collar 12 of the head 11of the body 1.

Assembly and operation of the butterfly needle 100 will now be describedpurely by way of example.

The spring 4 is inserted around the front part 30 of the needle-carrier3, then the needle-carrier 3 with the spring 4 is inserted from the rearinto the body 1, so that the spring 4 is compressed between the collar12 of the fore end of the body 1 and the abutment surface 32 of theneedle-carrier 3. During this operation of insertion, the lever 36 ofthe manual operating device is aligned with the nib 33 of theneedle-carrier and both are disposed in the slot 13. Then theneedle-carrier 3 is guided it its forward stroke inside the body 1.

When the needle-carrier 3 reaches the forward end of stroke, the nib 33of the needle-carrier abuts against the front abutment surface 14 of theslot 13, then the manual operating device is operated in rotation, sothat the lever 36 engages in the front recess 18.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, in this situation the spring 4 is loaded andcompressed between the collar 12 of the body and the abutment surface 32of the needle carrier and the needle-carrier is locked in axial movementsince the lever 36 of the manual operating device is inside the frontrecess 18. Furthermore, the front end of the front part 30 of theneedle-carrier protrudes from the hole 19 of the head of the body andthe needle 9 protrudes forward and axially out of the body 1.

Once the injection has been performed, the user turns the manualoperating device 34, so as to disengage the lever 36 from the lockingrecess 18 and position it in axis with the slot 13. As a result, theneedle-carrier is no longer retained and the spring 4 is released,causing retraction of the needle-carrier 3 with respect to the body 1.

As shown in FIG. 5, at the end of the retraction stroke of the needlecarrier, the nib 33 abuts against the narrowing 15 of the slot 13, thuspreventing further retraction of the needle-carrier 3 or possibleextraction thereof from the body 1. At this point, the user rotates themanual operating device turning the lever 36, so that the lever 36engages in the rear recess 17. In this situation any axial movement ofthe needle-carrier 3 with respect to the body 1 is prevented and theneedle 9 remains in the safety position, protected inside the body 1.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, to avoid operation of the manual operatingdevice, when the needle-carrier is in the rearward end of stroke point,a different shape of the rear part of the body 1 can be foreseen. Inthis case, two oblique flexible tongues 116 disposed in the slot 13 areprovided in the rear part of the body 1, so as to define a tapered part118 that narrows. The tongues 116 are obtained by means of longitudinalcuts 117 on the body 1.

Behind the tongues 116 a narrowing 115, narrower than the diameter ofthe nib 33 and wider than the thickness of the operating lever 36, isprovided. The end surfaces 119 of the tongues 116 are disposed oppositethe narrowing 115. Behind the narrowing 115 a tapered part 120 thatwidens is provided.

As a result, during retraction of the needle-carrier 3, the tongues 116of the body diverge to allow the passage of the lever 36 and the nib 33of the needle-carrier, thus when the nib 33 abuts on the narrowing 115,the tongues 116 return elastically to the original position, so that theends 119 of the tongues 116 block the nib 33 in the narrowing 115. Theoperating lever 36, on the other hand, passes the narrowing 115 and isdisposed in the tapered rear part 120.

Numerous changes and modifications of detail within the reach of aperson skilled in the art can be made to the present invention withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appendedclaims.

1. A butterfly needle (100) for venipuncture comprising a substantiallycylindrical body (1) with two outwardly extending flexible tongues (2)that can be manually grasped and bent by the user from a divergingposition to a converging position, and a needle (9) mounted axially inthe head of a needle-carrier (3) coupled to said body (1) so that theneedle (9) protrudes forward from said body (1), said needle-carrierhaving a tail (8) protruding rearward from said body (1) to couple withthe connection of a flexible tube intended to be connected to a syringeor bottle, wherein said needle-carrier device (3) is mounted so as toslide axially inside the body (1) to pass from a forward position of usewherein the needle (9) protrudes forward from said body (1) to performthe injection to a retracted position of safety in which the needle (9)is protected inside said body (1), there being provided: guide means(13, 33) able to guide the axial movement of said needle-carrier (3)inside said body (1) and end-of-stroke and locking means (18, 17, 36)able to lock said needle-carrier in said forward position and in saidretracted position.
 2. A butterfly needle (100) according to claim 1,wherein spring means (4) are disposed inside said body (1), between acollar (12) of said body (1) and an abutment surface (32) of saidneedle-carrier (3), said spring means (4) being loaded when saidneedle-carrier is in the forward position of use.
 3. A butterfly needle(100) according to claim 2, wherein said spring means comprise a spiralspring (4) disposed around a front part (30) of said needle-carrier,having a smaller diameter than a central part (31) of saidneedle-carrier.
 4. A butterfly needle (100) according to claim 1,wherein said guide means comprise a longitudinal slot (13) formed in thebody (1) and a substantially cylindrical nib (33) which protrudesradially outward from the needle-carrier (3) to be able to slide withinsaid longitudinal slot.
 5. A butterfly needle (100) according to claim4, wherein said longitudinal slot (13) is defined by a front abutmentsurface (14) and a rear narrowing (15; 115) able to block said nib (33)when the needle-carrier (3) is in the forward position of use and theretracted position of safety, respectively.
 6. A butterfly needle (100)according to claim 4, wherein said end-of-stroke and locking meanscomprise a manual operating device (34) comprising a hollow cylinder(35) rotatably mounted on said needle-carrier (3) and an operating lever(36) protruding radially from said cylinder (35) and protruding outwardfrom said longitudinal slot (13) to be able to be operated manually bythe user, so as to lock said needle-carrier, when it is respectively inthe forward position of use and in the retracted position of safety. 7.A butterfly needle (100) according to claim 6, wherein said longitudinalslot (13) has a front recess (18) at the front, suitable to receive saidmanual operating lever (36) to lock the needle-carrier in the forwardposition of use and a rear recess (17) able to receive said manualoperating lever (36) to lock the needle-carrier (3) in the retractedsafety position.
 8. A butterfly needle (100) according to claim 7,wherein said manual operating device (34) is disposed behind said nib(33), said operating lever (36) has a smaller thickness than saidnarrowing (15) and said rear locking recess (17) is disposed behind saidnarrowing (15).
 9. A butterfly needle (100) according to claim 5,wherein said body (1) comprises at least one flexible tongue (116)disposed obliquely in the rear part of said longitudinal slot (13) sothat the free end (119) of said tongue is disposed opposite saidnarrowing (115) to lock said nib (33) of the needle-carrier in abutmentbetween the narrowing (115) and the free end (119) of the flexibletongue, when the needle-carrier is in the retracted position of safety.10. A butterfly needle (100) according to claim 9, wherein said at leastone flexible longitudinal tongue (116) is formed by means of alongitudinal cut (117) on said body (1).